Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy got into a screaming match with his far-right colleagues behind closed doors on Thursday. He took advantage of the lack of cameras to vent his frustration with the holdouts, by dropping a couple F-bombs. If they think they can yank his gavel away they’re welcome to try.
McCarthy vents his anger
“You guys think I’m scared of a motion to vacate. Go f—ing ahead and do it. I’m not scared,” McCarthy thundered at his MAGA conservative colleagues. The Freedom Caucus still isn’t budging and they’re insulted. Kevin seemed to think he could buy their cooperation by starting the Biden impeachment probe and nothing else.
It’s nice that he cleared the issue off the table but he would have needed to do it before getting down to real business anyway. He sees the job as one of changing budget-balancing minds into voting yes. They see it as a need for him to take a machete to the budget and really start pruning the swamp jungle. They aren’t ready to budge and he isn’t trying to shave budget figures, so a shutdown seems certain.
Media pundits are describing the speaker as “combative” on September 14. He’s not going to be intimidated by threats. If the far-right caucus thinks they can snatch away his beloved gavel, they’re welcome to try.
If by next week I am not seeing action from Kevin McCarthy to come into compliance with the deal he made in January, then I wouldn’t bet against seeing motions to vacate the chair regularly until he is removed. pic.twitter.com/iSWvcUWZUW
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) September 13, 2023
Afterward, several of those in attendance were chuckling in the hallway about the part where Kevin told lawmakers to move or file “a f—ing motion” to oust him. A “motion to vacate would launch the process that could remove McCarthy from the speakership.” If enough Republicans throw him under the bus, the Democrats will do the rest.
The more moderate lawmakers continue to back the speaker but they really don’t count in this showdown. It only takes a handful of rogue holdouts to block anything.
With “Republicans having a razor-thin margin as the House majority, even a small group of far-right antagonists could succeed in removing McCarthy from the speakership if all Democrats voted to remove him.” He doesn’t have many liberal friends. They face a deadline of September 30 to make a deal or the government shuts down.
Nobody would miss it
This time around, those gloom and doom headlines about the dire straits of a looming government shutdown aren’t carrying as much weight. The Freedom Caucus didn’t cause this crisis. McCarthy can’t solve it without their help and he knows it.
They’re standing solidly behind what they’ve been insisting on for months. Unless there is a serious and meaningful attempt to rein in out of control spending they won’t vote to approve it. No matter how long the shutdown lasts. It’s a line in the sand that their opponents have known all about, all along.
McCarthy threw them an olive branch by unilaterally starting the Biden impeachment inquiry but they weren’t phased by it.
A government "shutdown" is a misnomer.
85% of the government continues as usual. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are all paid in full.
More accurately, it is a temporary pause in nonessential spending that would allow us to get our fiscal house in order. pic.twitter.com/18jSUBc1Bn
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) September 7, 2023
“That move did not appear sufficient, however, as members of the House Freedom Caucus and other far-right lawmakers spent Tuesday publicly reiterating that they view McCarthy’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry as a separate matter from earning their support on funding the government and averting a shutdown.”
A clear sign that nothing is moving in any direction came from a vote Wednesday which should have breezed right through but didn’t. “House Republicans failed to move ahead with a procedural vote on a typically noncontroversial bill to fund the Defense Department after it became clear they did not have enough votes.”
If they can’t move that through, they won’t be moving anything through. McCarthy could even end up handing his gavel over to Jim Jordan if he doesn’t get with the program and start finding real budget cuts.
